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Free or Paid host?

I use free hosting with free subdomain (preferably 000webost) for new websites with a little magic SEO.
If I see success coming, I transfer everything to my paid hosting and buy a new domain (with the free subdomain redirected to the new domain).
And real hard work SEO, tactics, promos, giveaways, hot content and other strategies to make it more successful.
I've been recommended against doing this (using a free subdomain) because if the site ranks high on search engines and you decide to switch to your own domain you have to do all the SEO work once again to get the good domain ranked.
 
I prefer a paid host because of its uptime and reliability. I don't trust free hosts because they can shut down any day. I usually stick with the popular hosts.
 
If you are building a website to learn, I would recommend trying out the free hosts as that would fit your pocket. But when you have grown into a professional and are into real time website development, definitely, the Paid Hosting is the only choice out there.
 
It depends on the scope of your application.
If you want to monetize the site or you want to see it up there for a comparatively longer duration of time, I will recommend a paid host, otherwise, a free host can prove helpful anyways.
The visitors, also remember how they are using the site, sometimes content dominates this impression, but first impression carries some importance.
 
I used free hosts many years ago. However, since I make my living the way I do I always use a paid host. There are multiple ways to get the job done, and it does not cost much. I do not think that a $5 to $7 business expense for hosting is that much. If you do not invest in yourself and your projects, you might find that you do not get very far. A good paid host is more secure and has about a bazzilion other pros that make the few bucks more than worth it.
 
I usually use free host in the beginning, and if I see that my website is growing well, I switch to pro hosting because of more features. I then continue to improve and upgrade my site. Pretty much the same thing as slap2dgroove does.
 
Paid hosting is very inexpensive. For less than $5,00 per month, plus a domain name, you have everything you need. I can't imagine using free hosting and giving someone else the ad revenue.
 
@DeveloperSam

I agree, but there are people who can't pay with their credit cards (due to not having them) or people who are just starting out, and they don't want to or can invest into hosting.
 
When we speak about hosting, we mean choosing a "web home" for your project. And the more carefully you come to this crucial choice, the more reliable your site performance can be. If you plan to run your business online, forget about what a free hosting is.
 
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When I first got into websites, forums and blogs when I was younger, I didn't have a way to pay for hosting or money to actually pay for hosting so I started off with free web hosting. My first ever host was actually 000webhosting which I was not at all happy with. The only positive thing about it was that it was free. Other than that, they were truly awful. The site would go down all the time and they actually deleted my site after a while for no reason. I hadn't broken any of their terms or rules yet they deleted it and they don't back up your site when doing so either so I lost the whole site.

After a while, I managed to start using paid hosting and I just can't see myself ever going back to using free hosting. Paid hosting is just on another level and the fact you don't have to worry about anything makes it so great.
 
I prefer paid services because they provide necessary hosting features that paid hosting services do not. Paid hosting provides backup services, faster loading times, and additional security features. Most free or cheap hosting services are also prone to easily get hacked or defaced by hackers.
 
I think it is better to have a paid hosting. It will give you more freedom to use your site and you can say that it is all yours. I suggest go to popular web hosting companies to boosts your web traffic.
 
I'm not employed yet and I also don't have that much of money to afford paid webhosting so I always end up with free webhosts. Although paid webhosting is better than free, I actually find free webhosting helpful, especially for beginners because it's kind of like easy to use and to customize.
 
Depending on what kind of site and services you are dealing on would determine which hosting would be best for you. But generally, there is nothing wrong with using free hosting services as long as it serves your need efficiently and effectively.

On the other hand, the services of paid hosting is far more better than free hosting and it's not that expensive to make use of paid hosting. It's not up to $8 for just one month, so it's quite affordable in my opinion.
 
I think its better to start with free until traffic comes in. Although free hosting have limited services, i think its enough to run the site. When you think its time and you have enough resources for premium then go for it.
You can make a plan or target before you can go to premium, when progress is within schedule and you need additional tools that can only be available in premium then i think its the best time.
 
I think its better to start with free until traffic comes in. Although free hosting have limited services, i think its enough to run the site. When you think its time and you have enough resources for premium then go for it.
You can make a plan or target before you can go to premium, when progress is within schedule and you need additional tools that can only be available in premium then i think its the best time.
I'm thinking of going for a cheap hosting to start my blog/website. I think it is much better than a free hosting service.

Can you recommend me some free or cheap hosting that you plan to use?
 
You can try free hosting sites like WIX this comes with a website builder. Other sites like Godaddy and Hostgator is not free but they offer very cheap premium pay. You can check the sites and pick whats the best for you.
 
I only used free hosting when I first started making websites. Well, it wasn't free, it was ad-supported. That's a lot better because you get more resources. So anyway, the company I had used is out of business now - but I only had a cheapo website on it anyhow.
 
Using a free host will get you nowhere! A free host may sound like a good idea but once you start to get active, I bet you anything, your website will get slower or you will be emailed warnings about using too many resources and offered to upgrade to a paid account. This is the same with free forum hosting, free blog hosting and so on. You are better off paying for hosting and not having to worry about it. I run dedicated servers... I pay more than $100 each month but I get fast websites with plenty of room to make more :)

As long as we want to get serious with the website that we are running, the best thing to do is to go with paid hosting for the services that you are going to get will be beneficial to the site in the long run. I agree that it is not always easy to do, but that is not to say that it is impossible.
 
I only used free hosting when I first started making websites. Well, it wasn't free, it was ad-supported. That's a lot better because you get more resources. So anyway, the company I had used is out of business now - but I only had a cheapo website on it anyhow.

Free hosting is good especially when you are still new on the job. You will need time to adjust and understand how things are done in website business before investing in paid hosting. It's true that paid hosting offers a lot more better services than the free hosting but it doesn't mean that free hosting doesn't get the job done.
 
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